


High Flyers

by SpacedOutDreamerBoy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Injury, Christian Character, Death, F/M, Fighter Pilots, Gay Character, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Swearing, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27970355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpacedOutDreamerBoy/pseuds/SpacedOutDreamerBoy
Summary: Far in the future, the seven continents became whole again, and the world was reborn. This new life sought out a peaceful existence.But war will always find a way.Rufus and his brother Cooper live on a small farm in Terrairia with their father, a retired Terrairian Air Force captain. When one brother is presented with a military draft and must enlist to fight in the Galvanized War, they both enlist, daring not to let the other go alone.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 9
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to post this before I lost it to the stupid one month draft rule :/ I have no way of keeping backups.

The sound of engines roaring in the sky made me turn my head upwards. A squadron of Terrairian Air Force planes flew by in a flash. The dark green paint on the planes told me their rank, lieutenant. The bright red plane leading them signified their captain. The planes disappeared behind the tall trees and into the distance, the sound slowly fading with them.

There had been a time when I longed to join the TAF, the Terrairian Air Force. It used to be all I could dream of. I learned how to fly a plane when I was twelve. I knew them inside and out, front to back, and even from side to side. Dad had taught me everything. 

But that was back then. Back when Dad wasn't scarred for life from the war.

He'd been a very respected pilot in the TAF. Joined fresh out of flight school, way back before the war began. Rose from private to corporal to lieutenant and finally captain in almost no time flat. During his service he flew one plane and one plane only, a gorgeous Model 15 Stryker Flyer. The only thing that changed on that plane was the paint each time he was promoted a rank.

When the war started seven years ago, Dad commanded the best damn squadron in the TAF, known by their nickname the High Flyers. You used to hear the privates and corporals on leave in town talking about securing a spot in the High Flyers. Dad knew how to command his men and women in the squadron right. They even had the highest count for shot down enemy planes, which was one hundred and nine planes taken out of the air. Dad also had the highest score for enemy planes shot down by one pilot, eighty-five. 

Then two years ago, it happened. We were visited by two TAF men and told that Dad had been shot down while in enemy territory, by the one and only Searchlight. Searchlight was an Industrious Air Force pilot that was a mystery to everyone. He flew a special plane, a black Model 6 Moonbeam. Not only was that make and model of plane extremely rare, the color of it was puzzling. No Air Force rank was signified by black, not even the Herbaltion Air Force. No one knew what Searchlight looked like behind his goggles and hat. Anyone who'd been close enough to see him was dead. He was named Searchlight because his black plane had a big white spot on the nose, like a searchlight. 

Dad had crashed hard in Industrious territory, and he was lucky that two men from his squadron were following him instead of the rest. If he had been alone, he could've died right there, or been taken prisoner. But he was spared from death that day. The men had radioed for a med plane, not wanting to risk moving him without professionals, and they got him back to Terrairia and to a hospital quick. One other unfortunate event from that day was that Dad's plane was never recovered. A small retrieval group was sent to bring it back, but it was missing from the crash site and never seen again. It was clear that Industrious had taken the plane for themselves, and it made me mad to know that those dogs had Dad's prized plane.

The crash messed Dad up in a lot of ways, physically and mentally. His left hand was gone, and so was his right leg below the knee. He had multiple scars and needed to wear an eyepatch because his right eye had been cut and was now extremely sensitive to any light. To top it all off, he was diagnosed with PTSD, and he often had vivid flashbacks and episodes where he would think he was still in the TAF or going down in the crash. He stayed in his room in bed most of the time these days, watching the news on TV or listening to the radio. We never talked much anymore, conversation was a hard thing to have with a man who didn't know where he was half the time.

"Roof? Hey! Rufus!" 

A pair of fingers snapped in front of my face. Cooper, my younger brother, stood in front of me, trying to regain my attention. 

"We have to get this harvest done? Do you wanna eat this winter? Cause I sure do. Get to it, man."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Coop," I apologized. He rolled his eyes. At seventeen he was one of the most mature people I'd ever known. He really did his share when it came to working on the farm. That didn't mean that he didn't know how to have a good time. Coop was a jokester when he wasn't busy, and an all-around fun guy to be with. On nights when we didn't have work to do and would go into town for some downtime, he was the life of the party. He knew pretty much everybody in town, and everybody knew him.

He sure did have a lot of girls looking at him too. Understandable, he'd gotten a lot from Dad in the family gene pool. Short, wavy, caramel brown hair, wide dark green eyes, a smooth round face and clean-shaven jaw. Six foot exactly, built lean and limber. 

Sometimes I found myself wishing I looked more like him. I'd gotten all my looks from Mom's side, mostly from my great-grandfather, from the photos I'd seen. I was a stocky, six foot three nineteen year old with dirty blonde hair that reached down a little past my ears, heavyset eyebrows that hovered over a pair of stormy blue-gray eyes, and a square jawline that hadn't seen a shave in a few months now. I never considered myself attractive, but Coop, he had the total package. 

"Roof! Today please!"

I went back to picking corn off their stalks, wishing I could get in a plane and take off into the sky, never to be seen again. It was a wonderful thought, but unfortunately, only TAF pilots could fly these days. Even if you had a pilot's license and weren't in the TAF, you weren't allowed to fly your plane for fear of getting shot by an IAF pilot or one of our own by mistake. Besides, I didn't have a plane anyway, I'd never be able to afford one. 

But one day, I hoped. When this damned war was over and we could have a peaceful life again without worrying about our deaths by an aerial attack. Many Terrairian towns had been brought to their knees by IAF attacks, the worst being the town of Coup, which had given the Battle of Coup it's name. That battle happened over four years ago, and the town was still rebuilding and fixing all the damage caused.

I shook all my thoughts away and focused on my task. Right now, the farm was the most important thing, and we had to make sure to keep it in tip-top shape. 

\-----

I collapsed on the sofa that night, exhausted from the day's work. Cooper sat beside me, watching the news. I hardly ever bothered with the news anymore, it was all too depressing. 

"Oh shit," Coop mumbled to himself. Cooper rarely ever swore, so I looked up to see what caused it. A news reporter was talking about Wheaston, a town close to where our sister Melody lived with her family. It had been shot up by IAF pilots, and it looked pretty bad. Luckily, a TAF squadron had swooped in and chased the Industrious dogs back to their own land.

"Man, that's way too close for comfort," Cooper said. "Melody goes to Wheaston every other weekend, she could've been there."

"Well, thank God she wasn't," I replied, sliding back down on the couch. 

"I mean, it's bad enough that Shane can't be with her and the kids."

Shane was her husband, our brother-in-law. He was a TAF corporal. 

"Yeah. But they're safe, that's what matters right?"

"Of course, of course. "

"Hey, I'm gonna take Dad his dinner, want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

I fixed Dad a TV dinner and brought it to his room. I opened the door very slowly as to not startle him. Even little sounds could set him off nowadays. 

"Dad? Dinnertime."

He grunted some reply and I walked up to the bed. He had the TV turned on to the news too and was watching it intently. I hoped nothing on there would trigger him.

"You see him?" 

I was shocked at Dad's sudden question, but I looked at the TV anyway to see who he was talking about. A TAF captain and his squadron were shown being praised, the same squadron that had drove the IAF away from Wheaston. 

"Cale Mars. I knew him way back when. We graduated flight school together. It was his dream to be a captain one day, I guess he made it."

I nodded. "Good flyer, huh?"

"Second-best in the TAF. After me of course." 

I chuckled. There was the Dad I remembered and loved.

"He was in the High Flyers when he was a corporal and I had just become a captain and assembled that squadron. Good man, real good man."

He suddenly stopped then gazed at me. "What the hell are you doing, Private? Get back to camp before I send you back to flight school!"

I sighed. Back to thinking he was in the TAF. I saluted so he wouldn't get any madder.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. Will do."

I left his room, happy that I at least had a coherent conversation with him. It was still Dad in there under all those mental and physical scars.

Cooper had gone to his room for the night and I decided to do the same. I sat down at my desk and rummaged through some paperwork, stuff about quotas and the like. I snapped on the radio that sat beside me and listened as a gentle melody played. I remembered the song, one Mom adored before she died. It reminded me of her, the way she used to dance to the music while cooking or cleaning. I missed her so much, it had been five years since she died. It broke Dad's heart when she did, they truly were what you'd call soulmates.

I yawned, the long hours finally starting to catch up with me, and I couldn't even make it to bed before falling asleep at my desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, happy to see you if you're reading this! I know AO3 is mainly a fanfiction website, but I enjoy putting my original works here instead of other sites like Wattpad. It just feels better to me.
> 
> Anyway, if you've stumbled across this work, well thank you so much for clicking and reading! I appreciate it, and feedback is always welcomed. Although unfortunately, expect very infrequent update times, it's hard for me to be on at a time other than night.


	2. Chapter 2

I was woken up early to the sound of banging on the front door. I had no clue who it could be, we didn't get visitors very often and Melody wasn't due for a stay. After yawning and stretching I finally stood up and went to answer it.

Cooper was still asleep, it was the weekend and we usually slept in a little on weekends, and I was surprised the loud knocking hadn't managed to wake him up. I rubbed my eyes and tried my best to look presentable for a man just woken up at five thirty in the morning. It was barely light out.

I opened the door and there stood two uniformed TAF pilots. One older guy and a younger man, I guessed captain and private. The older man read a sheet of paper that was in his hand.

"Cooper McCallister?"

"Nope, I'm his brother, Rufus. What's this about?"

"We need to speak with your brother, please."

I started to get an uneasy feeling, but I went to get Cooper anyway. I rapped my knuckles on his door and waited for a response.

"Mmmm... yeah...?"

"Coop, you got people who wanna see you."

"Who's it...?"

"TAF pilots."

I heard rustling then the door opened. Cooper had extremely messy bedhead like he usually did in the morning.

"TAF pilots? Why they wanna see me?"

"I don't know, go ask them genius."

He went to go talk to the mean while I stayed back in the hallway, listening to bits and pieces of the conversation. They handed him some kind of letter and finally tipped their hats in thanks before leaving. Coop just stood at the door like he was frozen to the spot.

"Coop? What'd they want?"

He didn't answer, only looked at the letter in his hand. His face had gone completely pale, and he looked scared to death.

"Cooper? Hey, what's up?"

He said nothing, only handed me the letter to read. I ripped open the envelope and scanned the words.

_To Mr. Cooper McCallister,_

_You are hearby called to present yourself to the Terrairian Air Force enlistment office to become a Terrairian Air Force pilot. This is a military draft, at least one able-bodied man or woman from every Terrairian household that is the age of seventeen or over is required to do as such. This does not apply to households where the only able-bodied person to be enlisted is also the sole provider._

_Sincerely,_

_General Whitestone_

"Drafted?" I said, not able to believe it. "Since when do they even do drafts anymore?"

"Since now apparently," Cooper snapped. He looked angry. 

"You're not going."

"Roof, I have too. They'd throw me in jail if I didn't."

"Cooper, you're seventeen! That's way too young to go to war!"

"I don't see any alternative, Rufus."

I groaned and sat down at the kitchen table. This was insane. Cooper, my little brother, was going to war and there was no way out of it. There wouldn't even be any flight school training for him, we both had our pilot's licenses. He'd be immediately sent to a squadron. 

Cooper sat across from me. "You know I don't want this either, but I really don't have a choice. I'm sorry, Rufus."

"I'm coming with you."

I had made up my mind as soon as I had read the letter. Cooper wasn't fighting any war without me. I wasn't gonna let him go it alone. 

"What, you gonna enlist? That's stupid Roof, who's gonna work the farm?"

"We've been worried about Melody. How there might be an attack on her town. Our place is perfect, there's never been an attack here, we're completely safe."

Cooper sighed, his eyes telling me that he was giving in. "Melody's gonna kick our butts."

"Then we could tell her she's assaulting TAF servicemen."

\-----

Melody pulled up to the house in her beat up old silver truck. Her two kids, our neice and nephew, jumped out of the back excitedly. 

"Hi Uncle Rufus! Hi Uncle Cooper!" they exclaimed in unison. I gave them each a hug.

"What's up, rugrats?"

"I found a frogger," Chance, my six year old nephew, told me. He held up his prize.

"That's a toad buddy, but cool nonetheless."

My five year old niece, Charlotte, or Charlie as we called her, started roaming the barn and checking out the animals. 

"Chance, go play with your sister while I talk to your uncles," Melody told him. I could see the fire in her eyes. 

"Okay Mom," Chance said, and ran off into the barn. Melody then rounded on us.

"Okay Cooper, I understand you getting drafted is something you can't escape. But what the hell is wrong with you, Rufus?"

"If one McCallister man is going, the other goes too."

"That is cheesy as all get out. And you expect me to work the farm while taking care of Dad too?"

"The kids will help you. There's not really much left to do since the harvest is almost over. And Dad stays in his room a lot, he's not too much of a hassle."

Melody shook her head. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?"

"Nope," I replied. 

"Fine, I'll do it. But if you get yourselves killed out there, I'm kicking both your asses."

"You worry too much, sis. We're the McCallister boys, we can take anything."

"Grampa!"

I turned when the kids shouted. Dad stood outside the front of the barn, smiling. 

"There's my favorite grandson and granddaughter! You kids causing too much trouble for your mother?"

Chance giggled. "No sir."

"Dad, what are you doing up?" I asked, shocked at his sudden appearance. He was fully dressed in his TAF uniform and even wore his prosthetic leg. He looked immaculate, everything was in place except for his name tag, which had been stolen by Searchlight as a trophy. I was worried he would slip in front of the kids, but he seemed fairly aware of everything. 

"Saying hello to my family, for gosh sakes." He kissed Melody on the cheek. "How's my beautiful daughter?"

"Fine, Dad," Melody replied with a laugh.

"So, one of you boys gonna explain this?" he asked, holding up Cooper's draft notice. I had left it on the table, not intending to show him. 

"Oh, yeah," Cooper mumbled. "Draft notice, I have to enlist."

Dad's face broke out into a huge grin. "The McCallister TAF pilots live on, eh? I'm proud of you boy." He pulled Cooper into a bear hug.

"I'm going too, Dad," I told him.

"Both my sons in the TAF? I thought I'd never see the day. This calls for a celebration. I know we have some champagne somewhere, the kids can have grape juice or something like that."

I laughed. "Sorry Dad, but we actually have to get to the enlistment office."

He nodded. "Alright. But when you get back this family will have a final night together we'll definitely remember."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, nothing like listening to your favorite band while writing to keep you going :)


	3. Chapter 3

Dad certainly stayed true to his word. After returning from the office and getting the right papers for our enlistment, we had a McCallister family party. We all had some champagne, but me and Cooper didn't drink too much since we had to leave the next morning. 

Dad told TAF stories for most of the night. They were all really interesting, from tales of battles to pranking the privates. It was a really good time.

Seeing Dad so aware and even happy made me smile. I don't know what exactly kickstarted it, but it was always welcome. We had a great time talking to him, and the kids got to see their grandfather for who he really was. 

Cooper and I decided to turn in at eleven that night. Tomorrow we had to go to the office to catch a transport truck that was taking all the new recruits to the main TAF base. Our skills would be evaluated and after that, we would get assigned to a squadron and would be taken to that squadron's camp.

Just before we retreated to our rooms, Dad came over to talk to us.

"Cooper, Rufus, I really am proud of you two. It's not about being a hero. It's about fighting for your land, protecting your people. That's what you're doing by being in the TAF, and it's very respectable."

I nodded. "Thanks Dad. Me and Coop, we're gonna be the best pilots we can be. Right, Coop?"

"Definitely," he replied. "Industrious won't even know what hit them. Even Searchlight won't have a chance."

I saw Dad's eyes glaze over at the mention of Searchlight. I immediately knew he was remembering the crash. Cooper realized the mistake he made and looked at me worriedly.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I asked, being careful. He may have been a pilot, but he had combat training too, and I didn't want him to strike.

Dad shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, fine. You boys get some rest, no telling when's the next time you'll get it."

I sighed with relief. "Got it. Night, Dad"

\-----

Eight A.M. On the transport truck with approximately fifty other new recruits. Some were drafted, like Coop, and some had made it their decision to join, like me. There were a lot of different faces. Black, white, tanned. I remembered reading in a history book at school about how there used to be something called "racism". Bunch of crap, I was glad nothing as stupid as that was around anymore. Closest thing we had to it were the fights between Terrairia and Industrious before it escalated into war. 

I was sandwiched between Cooper and a young girl probably not much older than either me or my brother. She had a pained look on her face, I wondered if she had a choice or not to join.

"Psst. Hey. Hey you."

I looked around for the sound. A guy sitting across from me waved and smiled.

"What's up? Name's Mateo Reyes, what's yours?"

"Oh, uh, Rufus. Rufus McCallister."

He grinned, showing off a gold tooth. "Nice to meet you. Drafted or choice?"

"Choice. My brother was drafted, though. I didn't want him to go alone."

"Now that's some family goals right there. I got drafted unfortunately, but hey, He's always got a plan for me."

I didn't know who "he" was until Mateo pointed at the silver cross earring stud in his right earlobe. 

"Christian?" I asked.

"A proud one. You?"

I shrugged. "We've never been into the whole religion thing."

"Understandable. I'm not one to force my religion on anyone, but if you're ever want to listen, I'm here to tell."

"I'll remember that," I told him, and meant it.

"So, what's your story Rufus?"

"My... story?"

"Everyone's got one. Question is, willing to share?"

I contemplated telling a complete stranger about my life, but Mateo seemed genuinely nice and I already felt like I trusted him. So I went ahead and started talking. 

We passed the rest of the truck ride swapping stories. I told him about growing up on the farm, what my siblings were like, about how Mom had died some years back, dreaming of being pilot, and even Dad's crash. He listened to everything so attentively, no interruptions, only speaking when I took a break. 

When I was done he talked about his life. He'd grown up in Herbaltion, but moved to Terrairia as a teenager when his dad started a general store. Before getting drafted he worked at the store for years, taking over when his dad died. He and his husband had been married for three years, and were expecting their first child via surrogate in a few months. I could see how proud he was of it, the baby had his genes and would likely have some of his features when it came out.

Mateo was a good-looking guy, with buzzed brown hair, chocolate brown eyes hiding behind a pair of rectangular, wire-frame glasses, and a wide, genuine smile. He had a crooked nose and an oblong face and a scar on his left eyebrow. He was honestly the nicest guy I've ever met.

"So, Searchlight was the one who took down your dad, huh?" he asked. I nodded sadly.

"I've heard stories of that pilot. I hope somebody takes him out someday, he's a real problem. Too many pilots lost to that guy."

The girl sitting beside me made a sound like a squeak and tensed up. I looked over at her but she turned away when our eyes met.

"You hoping for a certain squadron?" Mateo asked me. I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Not really. I don't know any of the good squadrons except for the High Flyers. My dad was their captain."

"Wow, your dad was the High Flyers captain? He must have been a serious pilot."

"Sure was. I used to want to follow in his footsteps. Sort of threw that dream into the trash though."

"And now you're living it unwillingly."

"Sort of? I mean, I made the choice on my own to not let Coop go without me."

Mateo shrugged. "Did you really do it for your brother? Or did some part of you still want to fight?"

"I-," I began, but faltered. He just smiled at me. 

"Let's go with both, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect a bit of a break between chapters, I've been very busy lately and haven't had much time to write.


	4. Chapter 4

The main TAF base was huge and crowded. There were people working on planes, training, and getting their information from the tent that was set up front and center. I stuck by Coop and my newfound friend Mateo. We stood waiting in line while chatting with each other to pass the time.

"I'm not sure which plane I want to fly. I'll probably just let them assign me a random one," Mateo said.

"Wait, we can pick our own planes?" I asked, a flutter of hope in my chest. All I ever wanted was to fly a Stryker Flyer again, and now could be my chance. 

"You can put in an appeal, yes, but they're not always guaranteed. You got a specific plane in mind?"

"Stryker Flyer," I replied. "It's what Dad flew."

Mateo half smiled. "Stryker Flyers are old planes. Few people are allowed to fly them, and they're usually much higher ranked than we are."

I frowned. Of course. I shouldn't have even thought about it. I knew Stryker Flyers were hard to get ahold of, it was stupid to think that I, a private, would even sit in one let alone fly one.

"Hey, there are plenty of other great planes out there. You'll find one that suits you," Cooper tried reassuring me. But it didn't help the sad feeling I felt.

We eventually reached the front of the line. Mateo signed all of his papers and winked as he walked away.

"Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and land the same squadron. But if we don't, nice meeting you Rufus. I just know you're gonna turn out to be a great pilot."

"Thanks man. You too."

"Next! Keep the line moving please!" yelled a man behind the table. I stepped forward waited for my instructions. 

"Name and age?"

"Rufus McCallister. Nineteen."

The man studied me closely. "Last McCallister we had was Captain Thomas McCallister. You wouldn't happen to be any relation?

"I'm his son. Guy behind me is my brother, his other son."

The man stared at the both of us for a few seconds. Then he shouted to someone behind him.

"Hey Mars! You might wanna get a look at these two."

A man in a captain's uniform approached the table. I instantly remembered his face. Captain Cale Mars, Dad's friend from the High Flyers.

"What's going on here?" Captain Mars asked. He had a deep, rough voice that I likened to an earthquake. 

"You remember Captain McCallister? Meet his kids."

Captain Mars' eyes lit up. "Tommy's boys?"

I was a little shocked. Very few people called Dad Tommy. That name was reserved for his closet friends and family. The only people I'd ever known to call him that were Mom and a couple of Dad's old bar buddies from over a decade ago.

"I don't believe my eyes. Tommy spoke about you two all the time. Now let's see if I remember." He pointed at me. "Rufus and..." He checked Coop out. "Cooper. Tell me I'm right."

I chuckled. "Yes sir, you're right."

Captain Mars took us aside to talk. "How is Tommy these days? I haven't seen or heard from him since the crash, how did it leave him?"

"Rough," Cooper sighed. "He stays bedridden most of the time, and he has really bad bouts of PTSD now and again."

Captain Mars shook his head. "I was there, when his plane went down. I always wondered, if I was any better, could I have saved him from it."

I stayed silent. It was interesting to hear about this other side of the story of what happened to Dad that day. Captain Mars seemed to hold a great respect for him, many people did, but this was different. This was a friendship. 

"Tommy mentioned that you both were fantastic pilots. I'll be overseeing your training. If things go smoothly, if I like what I see, you mind find yourselves a coupleof open spots in my squadron. 

I smiled. After the High Flyers disbanded, no other squadron seemed to match them. But from what I new about Captain Mars and his past piloting skills, I felt safe to assume that his squadron was now the best there was. He was a former High Flyer after all.

We said our goodbyes and walked off in different directions. I took a look at the papers in my hand. I had no rank yet, those were assigned after the training. Sometimes you got a high rank right away, if you were good. But I knew I would start out as a private like most.

"Well, we have some downtime. Wanna go watch the early training sessions?" Cooper asked.

"Ummm..." I muttered, looking around. "You know what? You go ahead. I'm going to the mess hall for a snack."

Coop shrugged. " 'Kay. See you later then."

I sighed after he left. It was time to have alone time to think about things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of now, I am on hiatus from this story and writing in general. Things have been whack lately, hope you understand 🙂


End file.
